Each year, smoking cigarettes claims the lives of 

more than 480,000 people in the

United States and more than 8 million people around the world. And, according to
the World Health Organization (WHO), smoking is the leading cause of
preventable illness, impoverishment, and death worldwide. Smoking rates have
been falling substantially over the last 50 years, particularly in high income
countries, with the rate of tobacco use now at 19.7% in the U.S in 2018. In
contrast, this rate remains stubbornly high (36.7%) in people with mental health
issues.

Some people believe smoking offers mental health benefits, such as reducing stress
and anxiety. In one study, it was not just smokers who thought this but also mental
health practitioners. Around 40–45% of mental health professionals assumed that
smoking cessation would not be helpful to their patients. Some also believe that
mental health symptoms would worsen if they quit smoking. Many smokers worry
that they will lose social relationships, either from the irritability that can occur
early on during smoking cessation or because they view smoking as a central part
of their social life.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 40
million people in the U.S. continue to smoke cigarettes. This is why a group of
researchers set out to explore how smoking impacts mental health precisely. Their
review appears in the Cochrane Library.

The mental benefits of quitting

“Smokers often believe that cigarettes are the crutch they need when they feel low,
but there is good reason to think that smoking is actually making them feel worse,”
said Dr. Gemma Taylor, the review’s lead author.

Knowing that quitting smoking can improve mental and social well-being within
weeks could also help keep individuals motivated during withdrawal. In the recent
review, researchers examined the findings of 102 studies. For inclusion in the
review, each study had to last for at least 6 weeks and track whether participants
quit smoking or not, plus any mental health changes. The studies either had to have
a control group or be a long-term follow-up study of smokers, some of whom quit
and some who did not. Based on their analysis, the team concluded that, contrary
to smokers and some practitioners’ fears, quitting smoking compared with not
quitting did not worsen depression, anxiety, and symptoms of stress.

Source: medicalnewstoday.com